It doesn’t need to be drastic like running a marathon, but just moderate physical activity that’s dedicated, is required for those beginning to age. Exercising reduces the risk of mild cognitive impairment such as memory loss.
If deciding to step it up a notch with a higher intensity based aerobic exercise program, has proven to improve one’s cognitive function further, especially for those experiencing these conditions. It’s known that those with cognitive impairment will eventually develop degrees of dementia.
What’s evident is that physical exercise can protect against these types of cognitive difficulties, this because of the production of certain compounds which protects the nerves.
What exercising also does is it produces more blood flow to the brain, along with the improved development of neurons, which contributes to the decrease of heart disease.
So there’s really no excuse for anyone not to exercise. It’s known that for those who can’t find time for it, will invariably use that time to get ill.
So there’s strong conviction for those attempting to reach optimal health when aging, that some type of regular exercise on a daily basis is required.
The Process Of Aging
With aging comes the natural process when the functioning of the brain begins to steadily decline, the initial signs being confusion, memory loss, and then ultimately unable to care for oneself.
So it comes down to one’s lifestyle. What you eat and more specifically your dedication towards regular exercise on a daily basis, has proven to do wonders keeping the brain sharper in focus.
The Effect Exercise Has On The Brain
It’s found that performing just moderate exercise, such as yoga, aerobics, stretching, or strength training, can have up to a 40% percent decrease in the risk of developing “mild” cognitive impairment, for those entering their 50’s and beyond.
What mild cognitive impairment refers to is the transitory phase which exists between normal brain function, and the development of memory related issues such as dementia or Alzheimer’s.
While just 2% percent of the general population will develop dementia, this rate increases to 15% percent for those who experiences mild cognitive impairment.
So the key becomes keeping the brain functioning at its peak, while avoiding any type of cognitive distortion by keeping it alert.
How Exercise Protects The Brain
What exercising does is it encourages, forces the brain to operate to capacity, this by causing the nerve cells to accelerate, which strengthens their connections while protecting them from damage.
Tests have shown that even moderate exercise such as walking or stretching, that the nerve cells will release proteins known as neurotrophic factors, such as BDNF, or brain-derived neurotrophic factor.
What regular exercising has also shown is a decrease in the development of Alzheimer’s disease, this by altering how the damaged proteins are managed in the brain.
Other studies prove that there were fewer beta amyloid peptides and toxic plaques when exercising, which are also associated with Alzheimer’s disease.
Best Types Of Exercises
The construction of the human body is efficiency, so what performing the same exercises on a daily basis does is you’ll get good at it, and may also become routine and boring.
Once an exercise becomes too easy, what you may want is to change things up a bit, this to challenge your body more.
Core Exercises
What the human body has are 29 core muscles which are located in the back, abdomen, and pelvis. What this group provides is the foundation of movement for the entire body.
What making the core stronger does is it supports the lower back, while protecting the spine and the hips from injury, giving greater balance and stability. Exercises such as yoga and pilates are excellent for strengthening the core.
Aerobic Exercises
What aerobics involves are exercises such as jogging, speed walking, or using elliptical machines. Aerobics gets the heart pumping, forces oxygen into the bloodstream, while activating endorphins which acts as a natural painkiller.
Performing consistent aerobic exercise also stimulates the immune system, this by injecting more energy into the cells which increases stamina.
Interval Or Anaerobic Training (HIIT)
What some claim the best method for conditioning the heart, stimulating the brain, and burning fat is to go beyond cardio based exercises such as walking or jogging.
What’s recommended are short sudden bursts of high-intensity training with gentle recovery periods. As a result, there are many who are turning to the regimen of doing anaerobic training.
This type of intense exercising, which is known as burst training, HIIT, or interval training, has proven to dramatically improve one’s cardiovascular fitness, while having the ability to burn fat.
Another major benefit is that you’re able to radically decrease the actual amount of time spent exercising, while supplying more benefits in the process.
For instance, what intermittent sprinting does is it produces high levels of chemical compounds known as catecholamines, which allows for more fat to be burned while actively exercising the muscles.
What results is an increase in fat oxidation which promotes weight loss. So what doing short bursts of activity performed at high intensity does, is it helps one reach their optimal weight, while increasing higher levels of fitness.
Strength Training
What strength training does is it rounds out your exercise regimen, which ensures that you’ve optimized all of the possible health benefits from a regular exercise program.
What you need is to do enough repetitions so it will exhaust your muscles. The weight needs to be heavy enough so you can perform around 12 repetitions, but light enough so you can do four sets.
What needs to be avoided is not exercising the same muscle group day after day, as they’ll need several days to recover and repair.